How long will it be before Buffy(tv series) goes Blu? (1 Viewer)

[Douglas Monce]

I think that is probably right for most TV shows from the late 80s through about 2002 when HD started to come into the picture.

The only one that I can see that MIGHT get the whole thing re-done in HD would be the Star Trek shows, depending on how well the remastered TOS sets sell. And even those aren't being released on blu-ray for now. But I wouldn't hold my breath.

Doug

 

[Matthew Clayton]

If Fox ever decides to release Buffy on BD, they really need to remaster the first two seasons from scratch. The amount of grain present... ugh, and the less said about the second season's PQ on standard DVD the better. And a lossless audio remix would be even better. (Even though the first two seasons were shot on 16mm film, other shows shot that way look better in comparison and a good remastering job would make those seasons look good -- not as good as 35mm film but better than the current DVD releases.)

I wouldn't be opposed to seeing BD releases of Buffy s3-s7. After all, Warners has released their older classics on BD and those were 4:3 (or 1.37:1).

 

[Douglas Monce]

Its not a matter of 4:3 or 16:9, the show its self was edited on standard def video. Unless they go back and re scan everything it will never be HD.

Doug

 

[Nick Martin]

If any of you have the means, I suggest watching season 1 of "The O.C." in HD. It's rerun in HD here locally, and it was shot on 16MM and is a very bright show.

It's DISGUSTING. The amount of grain and lack of detail makes the DVD release of the show actually look better in comparison.

Can you imagine how bad a dark series like Buffy would look? Probably a lot worse than season 1 of O.C.

ANGEL on the other hand, with season 1 being the exception would translate to Blu-ray wonderfully. Nowhere near as many 'gremlins' in the frame edges of season 2 compared to Buffy.

That being said, despite ANGEL being my favorite series, I wouldn't bet on a BD release of it, and unless they restored the recaps, I wouldn't care if it were released. A "CSI"- type show, shot in HD from the beginning would translate to BD effortlessly without excessive processing, restoration and so on.

 

[JulianK]

I've re-watched most of the first two seasons of Buffy in the last couple of weeks, and was surprised how bad they looked, compared to the later seasons.

Fox will inevitably have to remaster what episodes they can to HD if they want to continue selling the show overseas. The appetite for HD programming is growing exponentially, and it's becoming increasingly hard to sell SD material.

The good or bad news, depending on your viewpoint, is that if they go HD, you can almost guarantee that they'll be framed in 16:9 format.

Joss's preference for 4:3 (while shooting 16:9) is ultimately going to hurt the series (and some of its fans). It was a very short-sighted decision (especially as the series was already being shown in 16:9 format in Europe, while the series was still in production!)

 

[Matthew Clayton]

True, but eventually it'll go HD someday and it won't be pretty. And while I know you're referring to the first two seasons, I think the seasons shot on 35mm film onwards were edited on Avid equipment.

If Fox weren't the money-pinchers that they are, I'd love to see a serious remastering of the first two seasons (like Lowry Digital Images-quality). Even though it was edited on video, some effort to make the image look clearer, detailed and more filmlike rather than the smeary, blocky quality we have now would be deeply appreciated.

 

[ATimson]

They might have been edited on Avid, but I doubt the effects work or makeup will stand up to HD resolutions. It was dodgy enough the first time around.

 

[Nick Martin]

Why would anyone think that Fox would spend the money on upgrading this show for HD? Too much work for what is a smaller teen "cult" show, and nowhere near as big as something like "Star Trek" which has all that history behind it and the fanbase combined to warrant restoring that original series. Plus it was probably easier to restore it than Buffy would ever be. Sure Buffy was a phenomenon, but is the market there or would Joss Whedon himself even see the benefit of upgrading this? Probably not.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

I'm sure that Whedon would love to upgrade this for BD but the question is will FOX be willing to pay to have it done? If they aren't then it doesn't matter what Joss would like.

 

[Bryan^H]

Because it's a Fox staple show.
It sold extremely well on dvd, and Fox knows many people will shell out more scratch for a new improved version(new features would be the icing on the cake).
It may not be Star Trek but word of mouth of this show is still selling copies(2 of my friends bought the entire run recently) and that is the power of a good show with a cult following.

 

[Dave Mack]

are you aware that entertainment weekly has "Buffy" listed as #10 on the list of Best TV shows from 1983 to 2008...?
#10...?

The New Classics: TV | EW 1000: TV | TV | The EW 1000 | Entertainment Weekly

EW 1000: TV
The New Classics: TV
The 100 best shows from 1983 to 2008

1. The Simpsons, Fox, 1989-present
2 The Sopranos, HBO (1999-2007)
3 Seinfeld, NBC (1989-98)
4 The X-Files, Fox (1993-2002)
5 Sex and the City, HBO (1998-2004)
6 Survivor, CBS (2000-present)
7 The Cosby Show, NBC (1984-92)
8 Lost, ABC (2004-present)
9 Friends, NBC (1994-2004)
10 Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The WB (1997-2001); UPN (2001-03)

and TV Guide had it as #41 in their top shows of all time list...?

Not too shabby for a "smaller teen "cult" show"...

Every day new people buy the DVD sets.

 

[Zack Gibbs]

That list was clearly made to specifically include several demographics and genres though, so all it's really saying is that Buffy was the "Best Teen Cult show" in the last 25 years.

I think that if there's ever to be a TV on Bluray boom, we'll most likely end up with SD content. They'll still be able to take advantage of less compression/ more advanced codecs. Fit more episodes onto a disc, etc.

 

[Bryan^H]

Dave is right.
The Entertainment Weekly list has merit, but I'd go more by the TV Guide list.
That list wasn't aiming toward any demographic, it's simply stating the best tv shows of all time.

When I saw it was in the top 50 I felt great. Buffy deserves it.
It certainly isn't geared towards teens only.

 

[Dave Mack]

Me and all my friends that got into Buffy were hardly in our teens when the show came out. We were in our late 20's, early 30's yet we appreciated how good a show it was and is.

 

[Dave Mack]

STRONGLY disagree. Do you read EW? We have a subscription and have been read all the Buffy related reviews, stories, features. The list simply states Best 100 TV Shows from 1983-2008.
Send an email or letter to EW and ask if they simply consider Buffy the best "teen cult show" only. Go to EW.com and do a search for "buffy review" and you can read all their reviews on all the seasons and the show itself. Here are some excerpts...

"Tell people that Buffy is an hour as dramatically satisfying as Homicide, ER, or NYPD Blue and you're likely to be met with snickers and a dismissive wave. That's because most TV featuring either the supernatural or attractive young people is often built more along the lines of Charmed than Buffy..."

"Again and again, Buffy the Vampire Slayer — whether it's in the friendship between Buffy and Willow (Alyson Hannigan), the bond between Buffy and her mother (Kristine Sutherland), or the competition between Buffy and Faith — demonstrates relationships between women in rich, complex ways that television rarely takes the time to ponder..."

"The reverberations of the exquisitely shocking Feb. 27 episode of Buffy, ''The Body,'' in which the Slayer's mother (Kristine Sutherland) died, are still being felt by the show's audience. A somber yet fiercely emotional hour, ''The Body,'' written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon, inspired an immediate grassroots Internet campaign to drum up industry support to secure an Emmy nod for this prize-poor show.
As terrific as Whedon's writing and directing were, the hour wouldn't have been as soul-rocking as it was without Gellar's performance. Whedon gave her a showcase, and she ran with it: The shock, grief, revulsion, and devastation Buffy went through in 60 minutes were precise and moving, and all the more impressive for the graceful way the actress also shared scenes of equally effective emoting by costar Michelle Trachtenberg, as Buffy's sister, Dawn..."

"Who'd have thought that lowly UPN, so blessed to be the new home of ''Buffy,'' can now hold its head high and boast that it can go toe-to-toe with HBO? It's got a series with as much emotional punch as ''The Sopranos'' (yeah, go ahead, the snobs among you, sneer) and one whose scarifying coffin scene alone gives new menace to the phrase ''Six Feet Under.''

"There are some things you can't state often enough. The Aston Martin DB5 was the greatest Bond car ever. The Empire Strikes Back is the best Star Wars movie. And Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of the seminal TV shows of the last 50 years. In the top 10. Not open for debate..."

(These are not all from the same EW critic by the way...)


If you have read EW over the years you would see that they always championed Buffy as Great TV and not simply as great "genre" TV. My sister who runs a very successful New England advertising company got into buffy because of my recommendation around the year 2002 when she was in her 40's. She then went on and urged many of her colleagues, (most in their 30's and 40's) to give the show a chance when many hadn't BECAUSE they thought it was just some dumb "teen cult show" and they were pleasantly surprised when they watched and it wasn't.

What exactly is "teen cult" anyways?!?!?

Sounds like a bad emo band.

 

[Nick Martin]

This is NOT about the merits of the show.

This is ONLY about how unlikely it is that Fox would spend the money to upgrade this show, especially seasons 1 and 2 for High Definition broadcast or HD media.

 

[Dave Mack]

It sure sounds like you are describing the merits of the show.


I was simply responding to Zack's comment about Buffy being considered simply a "teen cult show" when many people and most TV critics would disagree, as if that would affect the decision to release it on BD.
Buffy has also sold very well on DVD and everytime EW mentions Buffy as being one of the best shows ever in their opinion or slaps SMG on the cover and calls her a great TV icon or Buffy one of the new classics, people see this.


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8 people, characters on the cover, she is one.

I am well aware of the amount of work it would take and the process involved to make it so, (which is why it won't be done for years if ever) but to imply that it wouldn't be done because of a lack of interest is inaccurate IMHO.
Firefly is coming out on BD. If Buffy HAD been edited on film or in HD, (with Firefly they aren't even re-rendering the FX, they are going to be the original 480P ones upscaled), I bet it would being released as we speak.

 

[Zack Gibbs]

Dave, just to clarify I'm a big Buffy fan, my point is just that the Entertainment Weekly list is meaningless. And I'm right.

 

[Nick Martin]

What about ANGEL? With Season 1 being the exception, the remaining seasons look fantastic on DVD, and wouldn't be nearly as difficult to upgrade.

 

[Dave Mack]

"And I'm right"....?
Actually that's simply YOUR opinion.

I believe that Buffy is one of the best TV shows ever, even if it falls into a "genre" or not. Many TV critics agree and many people buy EW and some actually do pay attention.

The real barrier to Buffy ever being redone for HD is the amount of work it would entail. NOT because of the genre of show it falls into or the perceived audience. And actually 20th century Fox would really only be interested in sales. Because Buffy does fall into a certain genre normally associated with younger, maybe geekier people, the BD sales WOULD be better than say "The Golden Girls"